Mattress and Coil-in-Coil Assembly

ABSTRACT

A mattress and coil-in-coil assembly. The mattress includes a cover, a frame, a plurality of spacing coils, and a plurality of coil-in-coil assemblies. The coil-in-coil assembly includes a first coil and a second coil positioned substantially within the first coil. The second coil is pocketed and projects out of a first end of the first coil.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/702,268, titled Mattress and Coil-in-Coil Assembly, to Jack Chen, et al., filed Jul. 25, 2005, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to coil-in-coil assemblies for mattresses, cushions, and other bedding or seating products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Two coil technologies have been traditionally used for mattresses. One such technology, the bonnell coil, has been an industry standard for the better part of the 20^(th) century. It is typically an hour-glass shaped spring, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and has become a commodity product. The other technology, the pocketed coil, also known as the Marshall unit, includes a spring and is considered to be a premium unit used in top-of-the-line bedding. The pocket coil is wrapped in a cloth cover and then sewn or glued together to form a unit. An attractive feature of a pocketed coil mattress is that it includes several hundred individually pocketed coils that each respond to the sleeper providing a comfortable feel.

A bonnell mattress is sturdy and firm and therefore is not as comfortable as a pocketed coil mattress. The pocketed coil mattress is considered more comfortable, but less durable and more prone to sagging than the bonnell mattress. In addition, the pocketed coil mattress costs about twice as much than the bonnell mattress to manufacture. What is needed then, is a coil technology for mattresses, cushions, and other bedding or seating products that would provide at least some of the benefits of both the bonnell and pocketed coil designs.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mattress and a coil-in-coil assembly that would overcome the aforementioned and other limitations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the invention provides a mattress comprising a cover, a frame, a plurality of spacing coils and a plurality of coil-in-coil assemblies. The coil-in-coil assemblies comprising a first coil and a second coil, the second coil positioned substantially within the first coil, wherein a first end of the second coil projects out of a first end of the first coil.

A second aspect according to the invention provides a coil-in-coil assembly comprising a first coil and a second coil positioned substantially within the first coil. The second coil includes a first end, that projects out of a first end of the first coil.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will become further apparent from the following description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the invention, rather than limiting the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial cut-away view of a mattress including a plurality of spacing coils and coil-in-coil assemblies, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates relative positioning of first and second coils, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section of spacing coils and coil-in-coil assemblies arranged in a quincunx arrangement, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a partial cut-away view of a mattress including a plurality of coil-in-coil assemblies, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The mattress is shown generally by numeral 10 and the coil-in-coil assembly is shown generally by numeral 30. Mattress 10 includes a cover 12, a frame 14, a plurality of spacing coils 16, and a plurality of the coil-in-coil assemblies 30.

Mattress 10 has a generally rectangular configuration that is defined by a top 22, a bottom 24, and two identical long sides 26 and two identical short sides 28. Mattress 10 may be a mattress of any size, including standard sizes such as twin, queen, king, or California king sized mattress. Mattress 10 may also be a custom or non-standard size mattress constructed to accommodate a particular use or room.

Cover 12 comprises any standard mattress cover as are well known in the art. Cover 12 encloses top 22, bottom 24 and sides 26, 28. In one embodiment, cover 12 is made of conventional quilted mattress cover material. In one embodiment, cover 12 includes perimeter pads formed of padding material. Cover 12 also includes padding layers formed of foam padding material, cotton padding material, upholstery material, batting and/or other materials suitable to provide cushioning properties, and the number of padding layers used is a matter of choice.

Frame 14 may be composes of a material such as, for example, wood or a rigid plastic suitable for attaching the plurality of spacing coils 16, and a plurality of the coil-in-coil assemblies 30. Spacing coils 16 and coil-in-coil assemblies 30 may be attached to frame 14 by nails, screws, staples or other hardware known in the art. In other embodiments, spacing coils 16 and coil-in-coil assemblies 30 are attached to frame 14 using adhesives, such as, for example, epoxy.

In one embodiment, the spacing coils 16 and the coil-in-coil assemblies 30 may be interconnected with a link 40. Link 40 interconnects adjacent coils. FIG. 1 illustrates coil arrangement having a plurality of elongate links 40 connecting each row of coils to an adjacent row of coils. In an example, coil row A is connected to coil row B using a top link 41 and a bottom link 42. Top link 41 is positioned along the upper turn 15 of each coil and bottom link 42 is positioned along the lower turn 17 of each coil. In one embodiment, the link 40 may be a spring, which provides resiliency to the mattress 10. In another or the same embodiment, the link 40 may be other attachment means for interconnecting the spacing coils 16 and the coil-in-coil assemblies 30 to each other. In an example, link 40 may comprise a clip or a hog-ring for attaching each individual coil to each adjacent coil.

Referring now to FIG. 2, coil-in-coil assembly 30 includes a second coil 34 positioned substantially within a first coil 32. Second coil 34 has a diameter that allows insertion into an interior space of the first coil. In one embodiment, the first coil 32 and the second coil 34 are substantially coaxial. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the relative positioning of the second coil 34 within the first coil 32 may vary from the illustrated and described embodiments while remaining within the scope of the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the first and second coils 32, 34 may include a variety of types, shapes, configurations, and sizes for providing resistance to compressive forces exerted along axis A.

Each of the first coils 32 includes a top turn 42 and a bottom turn 44. In one embodiment, top turn 42 and bottom turn 44 of each spring are relatively larger in diameter than the intermediate turns 46. In another embodiment, a coil spring 30 comprises a first coil in which all of the turns are of the same diameter. In one embodiment, first coil 32 has three intermediate turns 46 between the top turn 42 and the bottom turn 44. In another embodiment, first coil 32 includes two intermediate turns. Those with skill in the art will recognize that the number of intermediate turns 46 may vary depending on the application and the desired amount of support. In one embodiment, top turn 42 and bottom turn 46 are flat wound turns. With flat wound turns, the top and bottom surfaces 52, 54 will be planar, with the plane extending perpendicular to the center axis A of each coil assembly 30. In one embodiment, first coil 32 comprises a bonnell coil.

Second coil 34 comprises a pocketed coil having a plurality of turns 56. In one embodiment, a first end 62 of second coil 34 projects out of a first end 36 of the first coil 32 such that when a load is not placed upon the mattress 10, the second coil 34 extends beyond the first coil 32. In one embodiment, a second end 64 of the second coil 34 also projects out of a second end 38 of the first coil 32. A mattress with the second coil 34 projecting from both ends 36, 38 of the first coil 32 allows it to be flipped so that both sides may be used as is well known in the art to prolong the lifespan of the mattress.

The length of the first and second coils 32, 34 may vary one relative to another. In one embodiment, the first coil 32 is shorter than the second coil 34 wherein the second coil 34 may project from the first end 36 and, optionally, the second end 38, as shown in FIG. 2. In another embodiment, the second coil 34 may be equal to or shorter in length than the first coil 32 and project from just the first end 36. Those skilled in the art will recognize that relative lengths of the coils may vary and are not limited to the examples provided herein.

The arrangement of the spacing coils 16 relative to the coil-in-coil assemblies 30 may vary. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, four spacing coils 16 and the coil-in-coil assembly 30 may be in a quincunx arrangement. In another embodiment, the spacing coils 16 and coil-in-coil assemblies 30 may be alternatively arranged. Those skilled in the art will recognize that relative arrangement of the coils may vary and are not limited to the example provided herein.

In one embodiment, the spacing coils 16 may be simple coils. A simple coil, for example, may consist of a bonnell type coil. In another embodiment, the spacing coils 16 may be coil-in-coil assemblies. In yet another embodiment, the spacing coils 16 may be either simple coils or coil-in-coil assemblies. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the constitution of the mattress 10 may vary from the described and illustrated embodiments in terms of the number and type of coils and may also vary within the mattress itself (e.g certain mattresses include a substantially higher density of coil-in-coil assemblies as spacing coils near the center thereby providing a “crown” effect).

In one embodiment, the first coil 32 has a first spring rate and the second coil 34 has a second spring rate. In one embodiment, the first spring rate is greater than the first spring rate. As such, two different effects may be provided by the compression of the mattress 10. For example, when a sleeper compresses the mattress 10 surface somewhat, (s)he receives a relatively softer “cushioning effect” provided by compression of just the projecting second coils 34. When the sleeper increases the compression load of the mattress 10, (s)he receives a firmer support provided by the simultaneous compression of the first and second coils 32, 34. The spring rates may be customized within the mattress 10 from region to region. For example, certain regions of a given mattress requiring additional support may include first and/or second coils 32, 34 with a relatively higher spring rate(s). In addition, the “feel” of the mattress may be customized. For example, a softer “cushioning effect” and less firm support are provided by first and second coils 32, 34 having a lower spring rate, respectively. The first and second coils 32, 34 may be manufactured from a variety of materials known in the art for providing different spring rate(s).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the coil-in-coil technology described herein is not limited to mattresses. The technology may, for example, be applied to cushions and other bedding or seating products.

Upon reading the specification and reviewing the drawings hereof, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that myriad other embodiments of the present invention are possible, and that such embodiments are contemplated and fall within the scope of the presently claimed invention. The scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents are intended to be embraced therein.

While the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are presently considered to be preferred, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the cover, frame; spacing coils, and coil-in-coil assemblies may be varied while providing a functional stent with a reduced profile. 

1. A mattress comprising: a cover; a frame; a plurality of spacing coils; a plurality of coil-in-coil assemblies comprising a first coil and a second coil, the second coil positioned substantially within the first coil; wherein a first end of the second coil projects out of a first end of the first coil.
 2. The mattress of claim 1 wherein at least two of the plurality of spacing coils and the coil-in-coil assemblies are connected with a link.
 3. The mattress of claim 2 wherein the link comprises a spring.
 4. The mattress of claim 1 wherein the second coil includes a second end, wherein the second end of the second coil projects out of a second end of the first coil.
 5. The mattress of claim 1 wherein a set of the plurality of spacing coils and coil-in-coil assemblies are arranged in a quincunx arrangement.
 6. The mattress of claim 1 wherein the spacing coils comprise at least one of a simple coil and a coil-in-coil assembly.
 7. The mattress of claim 1 wherein the first coil comprises a first spring rate and the second coil comprises a second spring rate
 8. The mattress of claim 7 wherein the first spring rate is greater than the greater spring rate.
 9. The mattress of claim 7 wherein the first spring rate and second spring rate are customized.
 10. The mattress of claim 1 wherein the second coil comprises a pocketed coil.
 11. A coil-in-coil assembly comprising: a first coil; a second coil positioned substantially within the first coil; wherein the second coil includes a first end, the first end of the second coil projects out of a first end of the first coil.
 12. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the second coil includes a second end, wherein the second end of the second coil projects out of a second end of the first coil.
 13. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the first coil comprises a first spring rate and the second coil comprises a second spring rate.
 14. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the first spring rate is greater than the second spring rate.
 15. The assembly of claim 14 wherein the first spring rate and the second spring rate are customized.
 16. The assembly of claim 11 further comprising four spacing coils positioned about the pocketed coil-in-coil assembly in a quincunx arrangement.
 17. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the spacing coils comprise at least one of a simple coil and the coil-in-coil assembly.
 18. The assembly of claim 15 wherein a set of the four spacing coils and the coil-in-coil assembly are connected with a link.
 19. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the link comprises a spring.
 20. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the second coil comprises a pocketed coil. 